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Caledonian Sleeper
Caledonian Sleeper is the collective name for overnight sleeper train services between London and Scotland, in the United Kingdom. It is one of only two sleeper services on the railway in the United Kingdom (the other being the Night Riviera between London and Penzance). Two services depart London each night from Sunday to Friday and travel via the West Coast Main Line to Scotland. The earlier departure divides at Edinburgh into portions for Aberdeen, Fort William and Inverness. The later departure serves Edinburgh and Glasgow splitting at Carstairs. Five London bound portions depart from these destinations each night, combining into two trains at Edinburgh and Carstairs. Since April 2015, the Caledonian Sleeper has been a standalone franchise operated by Serco. Prior to this it was part of the ScotRail franchise. Background )}}]] Sleeper trains had operated between London and Scotland since the completion of the line in the 1850s. Services operated from both London Euston via the West Coast Main Line including the Royal Highlander and London King's Cross via the East Coast Main Line until the latter were withdrawn in May 1988."No sleepers on ECML" The Railway Magazine issue 1039 November 1987 page 690 InterCity planned to remove all seating accommodation on the remaining services from May 1992, however it instead concluded a deal with Stagecoach to retain the Mark 2 sitting carriages."Stagecoach, InterCity Launch Trend-setting Marketing Deal" The Railway Magazine issue 1093 May 1992 page 6"Stagecoach Rail Livery Unveiled" The Railway Magazine issue 1094 June 1992 page 10 After 12 months the Stagecoach carriages were withdrawn."The Stagecoach Story" Rail Magazine issue 286 28 August 1996 pages 34-37 On 5 March 1995, responsibility for operation of the Anglo-Scottish services passed within British Rail from InterCity West Coast to ScotRail."Inverness depot to remain open" The Railway Magazine issue 1128 April 1995 page 31 British Rail had proposed to cease operating the Fort William portion, however the Highland Regional Council successfully sought a stay pending a formal consultation, after the Scottish Court of Session ruled that the correct service closure process had not been followed."Sleeper cuts to go ahead" Rail Privatisation News issue 23 March 1995 page 4"Court rules on Fort William Sleeper" Rail Magazine issue 253 24 May 1995 page 6"BR loses appeal over W Highlands sleeper" Rail Magazine issue 255 21 June 1995 page 8 Eventually British Rail agreed to retain the Fort William portion, but it was reduced from four sleeping carriages to one."Fort William sleeper reprieved" Rail Magazine issue 262 27 September 1995 page 6 The motorail service was withdrawn in 1995."Thirty years of the Mk 3 sleepers" Rail Express issue 190 March 2012 pages 14-21 Caledonian Sleeper On 4 June 1996, the service was relaunched as the Caledonian Sleeper with the Night Caledonian (to Glasgow), Night Scotsman (to Edinburgh), Night Aberdonian (to Aberdeen), Royal Highlander (to Inverness) and West Highlander (to Fort William) sub-brands."Caledonian Sleepers relaunched" Rail Privatisation News issue 33 27 June 1996 page 4"Sleeper service relaunch" Rail Magazine issue 283 17 July 1996 page 11 On 31 March 1997, as part of the ScotRail franchise it was taken over by National Express."ScotRail prize goes to National Express" The Railway Magazine issue 1152 April 1997 page 9 In March 1998, the West Coast Main Line portions which had been hauled by Virgin Trains Class 87s, were taken over by English Welsh & Scottish Class 90s."EWS to power ScotRail sleepers" The Railway Magazine issue 1164 April 1998 page 60"EWS starts electric Sleeper operations" Rail Magazine issue 328 8 April 1998 page 59 In January 2000, sitting carriages were introduced with 11 ex Virgin Trains Mark 2 carriages refurbished at Wolverton railway works with first class recliners."ScotRail sleepers - seats for all at £7m" Rail Magazine issue 356 5 May 1999 page 8"Scotrail refurbishes day coaches for sleepers" Rail Magazine issue 371 1 December 1999 page 11"Seat back on sleeper trains for ScotRail" Rail Magazine issue 377 23 February 2000 page 11 At the same time the Mark 3 sleeping carriages were refurbished with a purple and blue livery applied."ScotRail's Caledonian Sleepers go purple" Rail Express issue 41 October 1999 page 54"ScotRail sleeper upgrade" The Railway Magazine issue 1182 October 1999 page 63 From June 2001, Class 67s began to replace Class 47s on the Aberdeen and Inverness portions."EWS and ScotRail agree Class 67s for sleepers" The Railway Magazine issue 1219 November 2002 page 71 In June 2006, they replaced Class 37s on the Fort William portion. On 17 October 2004, the Caledonian Sleeper along with the rest of the ScotRail franchise was taken over by First ScotRail.FirstGroup clinches Scottish rail franchise The Daily Telegraph 12 June 2004 The rolling stock remained unchanged. The carriages were painted in FirstGroup's corporate blue, pink and white livery as were three Class 90s.Operating enhancements for First Scotrail sleeper to be delivered by EWS and Axiom Rail English Welsh & Scottish 26 May 2006"Hybrid identity for Scottish Class 90s" Rail Magazine issue 541 7 June 2006 page 7"EWS paints first Class 90 for ScotRail" Today's Railways issue 55 July 2006 page 51"Class 90 gets First Group livery" The Railway Magazine issue 1266 October 2006 page 7 Serco In 2012 the Scottish Government announced that as part of the reletting of the ScotRail franchise from April 2015, the Caledonian Sleeper would be operated by a separate franchise. It was stated that a total of £100 million would be invested in new and additional rolling stock.Scottish rail services plan outlined by government BBC News 21 June 2012"Scotland to split Sleepers from next ScotRail franchise" Rail Magazine issue 700 11 July 2012 page 8 In June 2013, Transport Scotland announced Arriva, FirstGroup and Serco had been shortlisted to bid for the new franchise.Caledonian sleeper train service bidders named BBC News 28 June 2013 In May 2014, the franchise was awarded to Serco with a commitment to replace the Mark 2 and Mark 3 coaching stock by 2018.Serco wins franchise for Caledonian sleeper train service BBC News 28 May 2014 On 31 March 2015, Serco Caledonian Sleepers Limited,Companies House extract company no SC477821 Serco Caledonian Sleepers Limited took over the operation of the Caledonian Sleeper The Caledonian Sleepers headquarters and customer call centre are located within Inverness station. Some terminus station has lounges and ticketing/customer service desks. Route liveried Mark 3 at Edinburgh Waverley in February 2009]] Two trains depart London Euston on six nights per week, Sunday to Friday, heading north on the West Coast Main Line. The trains normally operate at a maximum speed of , but are authorised to travel at where line speeds permit if the train has been delayed by more than 20 minutes. Highland Sleeper Departs London Euston at 21:15 (20:57 Sunday), calling at , Crewe and Preston to pick up passengers only, and arrives at approximately six-and-a-half hours after leaving London. The electric Class 92 (sometimes Class 90) locomotive is uncoupled and replaced by a Class 73/9 (formerly a Class 67) diesel locomotive for each of the three portions, to Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William. The front two sleeping carriages are for Fort William, being combined at Edinburgh with a further two sitting carriages to make a four-vehicle formation. The middle portion of either six carriages is for Aberdeen, and the rear portion of eight carriages is for Inverness. Both the Aberdeen and Inverness portions usually convey one sitting and one lounge carriage each, with the rest being sleeping cars, all working through to/from London. Heading south, the Aberdeen, Fort William and Inverness portions join at Edinburgh to form one train calling at Preston, Crewe and London Euston (alighting only). As of September 2014, the Fort William Sleeper no longer serves , instead serving Low Level, alighting only southbound/boarding only northbound.GB NRT December 2015-May 2016, Tables 227 (Network Rail) Lowland Sleeper Departs London Euston at 23:50 (23:27 Sunday), calling at to pick up only. Passengers can alight at and at (on the Glasgow section only), where the train divides, the rear portion continuing to Edinburgh, the front portion to additionally calling at . Southbound the portions from Glasgow (calling at Motherwell) and Edinburgh join at Carstairs (where passengers can board the Glasgow section), then call at Carlisle to pick up only, setting down at Watford Junction and London Euston the following morning. Sunday services are sometimes diverted via the East Coast Main Line when the West Coast Main Line is closed for engineering work. Services diverted via the East Coast Main Line still depart from London Euston. Rolling Stock liveried 90021 at Edinburgh Waverley in June 2009]] Since its 1996 inception, the service has been operated by Mark 2 and Mark 3 carriages. These are scheduled to be replaced by Mark 5 carriages in 2018.Brand new Caledonian Sleeper trains from 2018 Serco 17 February 2015"Autumn target for mock-up of CAF's new Mk 5 carriages" Rail Magazine issue 775 27 May 2015 page 30 Motive power was initially provided by InterCity West Coast Class 87s on the electrified West Coast Main Line and Class 37s and Class 47s north of Edinburgh. In March 1998, the Class 87s were replaced by English Welsh & Scottish Class 90s. From June 2001, Class 67s began to replace Class 47s on the Aberdeen and Inverness portions. In June 2006, they replaced Class 37s on the Fort William portion. To operate the latter, the 67s were fitted with cast iron brakes and restricted to 80 mph. When Serco were awarded the franchise, it contracted GB Railfreight to provide drivers and traction for the services.GB Railfreight boosts rail services business with Serco Caledonian Sleeper contract Europorte 17 February 2015Serco signs GB Railfreight to run Scots sleeper services BBC News 17 February 2015 It was planned that the electric services be operated by Class 92s and the diesel services by rebuilt Class 73/9s."Final GBRf rebuilt Class 92 delivered for Sleeper service" Rail Magazine issue 774 13 May 2015 page 28 However mechanical problems with the former and the first of the latter not debuting until February 2016, have seen locomotives hired in from a number of sources including AC Locomotive Group, DB Cargo UK, Freightliner and Harry Needle Railroad Company."The Sleepers are stirring" Rail Magazine issue 756 3 September 2014 page 70"Class 90s for Sleepers until 92s prove their reliability'' Rail Magazine issue 783 16 September 2015 page 10"Caledonian Sleeper uses Class 86s" Railway Magazine issue 797 30 March 2016 page 28 DB Cargo UK Class 67s ceased being used in June 2016."Rebuilt 73/9s take over all Caledonian Sleeper work" Rail Magazine issue 805 20 July 2016 page 32 AC Locomotive Group heritage Class 86 and Class 87s haul the empty carriage movements between Euston and Wembley depot and have on occasions operated services to Scotland.Preservation 2015 AC Locomotive Group A midnight teal livery was adopted."Repaint into Midnight Teal livery" Rail Magazine issue 771 1 April 2015 page 29"86/4 to receive Sleeper livery" Rail Magazine issue 776 10 June 2015 page 27 Heavy maintenance on the carriage stock was performed at Inverness until April 2015, when the work was contracted out to Alstom and transferred to Polmadie.Alstom to maintain sleeper trains in the UK Alstom 12 February 2015 Current Future References External links Category:Named passenger trains of the United Kingdom Category:Night trains Category:Railway services introduced in 1996 Category:Rail transport in Scotland Category:Serco Group Category:Transport in Aberdeen Category:Transport in Dundee Category:Transport in Edinburgh Category:Transport in Glasgow Category:Transport in Highland (council area) Category:1996 establishments in the United Kingdom